{"product_id":"have-you-been-good-a-memoir-9781783780785","title":"Have You Been Good?: A Memoir","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eVanessa Nicolson is the granddaughter of Vita Sackville-West and Harold Nicolson. She was born to an illustrious name and an unhappy marriage. Her father, the art historian Ben Nicolson, was homosexual and his marriage to Vanessa's Italian mother fell apart when Vanessa was very young.    In this powerful and meditative memoir she chronicles her disjointed childhood and reckless youth, including holidays at Sissinghurst Castle with her cousins, and her experience of a liberal English boarding school. Interlinked with her story is that of her daughter Rosa, who died, aged 19.    This book is a meditation on the threads of love and loss that weave through a life and an examination of the meaning of cultural privilege in the context of emotional deprivation.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA brutal, frank, and bittersweet memoir of poverty amid privilege -- Peter Stothard, author * Alexandria *\u003cbr\u003eBeautiful and honest -- Victoria Hislop, ‘Summer Read’ * Women \u0026amp; Home *\u003cbr\u003eVivid and sometimes painfully honest... She has taken the base and battered metal of her life and turned it into gold * Mail on Sunday *\u003cbr\u003eA collection of fragile fragments, handled with care * Daily Telegraph *\u003cbr\u003e[A] heartbreaking memoir -- ‘Books of 2015’ * Sunday Express *\u003cbr\u003eFull of vigorous humour and sharp social comment -- Charlotte Moore, Books of the Year * New Statesman *\u003cbr\u003eNicolson is a startlingly skilful writer and can wring bleak comedy from the unlikeliest of material... This level of honesty lifts the book into a league of its own: the enduring feeling, however, is of the author's own dogged inner vitality -- Claire Harman * Evening Standard *\u003cbr\u003ePoignant... While there are harrowing aspects to Vanessa's story they are leavened by an atmospheric account of a life that was privileged in some ways, underprivileged in others but [...] always  fascinating -- Charlotte Heathcote * Daily Express *\u003cbr\u003eYou finish this beautifully written, highly affecting memoir feeling that Vanessa Nicolson hasn't always been good, but wishing above all else that her mother could open her handbag now and, finally, give her the gift of love -- Marcus Field * Independent *\u003cbr\u003eA searing and uncomfortable book... beautifully written -- Vanessa Berridge * Sunday Express *\u003cbr\u003eA book of unflinching honesty, full of wisdom and rare courage -- Virginia Nicholson, author * Millions Like Us *\u003cbr\u003eIn recording her own roles as both daughter and mother, Nicolson has penned a double helix to motherhood. It accounts for the many shades of experience that shouldn't be, but so frequently are, endured in families, irrelevant of privilege -- Rebecca Swirsky * Observer *\u003cbr\u003eSet in the context of a perennially fascinating family, it's also a  powerful meditation on cultural privilege in an environment of emotional  deprivation. Engrossing -- Caroline Sanderson ‘Editor’s Choice’ * Bookseller *\u003cbr\u003eMoving * Good Housekeeping *\u003cbr\u003eAn intriguing family history done with acute insight and rueful humour -- Iain Finlayson * Sage Magazine *\u003cbr\u003eNicolson writes with rare and painful honesty about her unhappy childhood, her many mistakes, and the tragic death of her daughter -- Simon Shaw * Mail on Sunday *\u003cbr\u003eAn admirably frank autobiography, told with feeling -- Lesley McDowell * Independent on Sunday *","brand":"Granta Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49412084695383,"sku":"9781783780785","price":9.49,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781783780785.jpg?v=1730515608","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/have-you-been-good-a-memoir-9781783780785","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}